It’s High Time for Bhutan and the U.S to Establish Diplomatic Relations
Written by Sapna Suresh; Edited by Andrew Ma
Published on April 8th, 2025
Bhutan, situated between India and China, is nicknamed the “Hidden Kingdom,” given the lack of attention it receives from the media and policymakers abroad. However, a few weeks ago, Bhutan appeared in the news cycle for an odd reason: the American travel ban. According to a draft developed by the U.S government, Bhutan was one of the countries proposed under which its citizens would not be allowed to come to the U.S. A list that placed Bhutan next to countries like Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Somalia, and Syria.
The White House did not provide an official explanation of why Bhutan would be added to a travel ban. However, one plausible reason could be that many Bhutanese nationals in the U.S overstayed their visa. For example, in 2023, about 12.3% Bhutanese who arrived in the U.S on a student or work visa overstayed. This incident highlights the need for Bhutan to consider establishing formal diplomatic relations with the U.S. Having an embassy in Washington D.C will make it easier to handle these types of issues going forward.
Bhutan’s Foreign Policy
Since the 1950s, the most important relationship for Bhutan has been India. In 1949, the two countries signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, permitting India to “guide” Bhutanese foreign policy. After China invaded Tibet in 1949, Bhutan gradually ended its isolationist policy and began to look towards India to safeguard its sovereign and receive economic and developmental assistance.
India’s defeat in the war against China in 1962 prompted Bhutan to increase its outreach to the world, which it did by establishing a UN mission in New York to safeguard its sovereignty and diversify foreign aid, among other efforts. However, after India annexed Sikkim in 1975, Bhutan sought to lessen dependency on India and increase its diplomatic engagement. Consequently from the 1980s to the 1990s, Bhutan established diplomatic relations with Denmark, the European Union, Pakistan, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, and various other Asian and European countries.
The last round of diplomatic expansion came after Bhutan’s transition into a constitutional monarchy from 2007 to 2013. During this period, Bhutan established relations with Afghanistan, Brazil, Spain, the UAE, Türkiye, Cuba, Israel, and a number of other countries. However, the only countries that have an embassy in Bhutan are Bangladesh, India, and Kuwait.
The Current State of Bhutan-U. S Engagement
Despite an uptick in expanding their bilateral relationships, Bhutan and the United States still do not have diplomatic relations. In fact, “Bhutan does not have official diplomatic relations …with any of the other permanent members of the UN’s Security Council—France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and China.” As a result, there is no American embassy in Bhutan and no Bhutanese embassy in the U.S. In the place of that, Bhutan is represented in America’s embassy in New Delhi, which provides consular services.
One explanation for the lack of U.S-Bhutan relations is Bhutan’s desire to have a low global profile. However, if that is the case, what explains Bhutan having relations with Israel and Cuba, which contradict Bhutan’s desire to maintain a low profile and avoid controversy? Another reason given is that Bhutan seeks to avoid becoming entangled in great power politics. However, having no formal relations with China did not do anything to stop the country from having border tensions with China, culminating in the 2017 Sino-Indian Doklam standoff.
From the American side, the lack of relations with Bhutan could be explained by the fact that Bhutan is not really a priority for American diplomatic efforts. However, as the recent issue over Bhutanese nationals overstaying their visa illustrates, it is in American interests to have relations with Bhutan to resolve any outstanding problems.
Going Forward
While Bhutan’s policy of having a low global profile may have made sense during the 1960s, it does not work for the world of 2025, making the lack of relations with the U.S unexplainable. Unlike Iran or North Korea, “Bhutan is a country with which the U.S. has no real dispute or grievance—or really much history of any kind.”
Establishing diplomatic relations with the U.S does not mean that Bhutan is expected to side between the U.S and China or get involved in global conflicts. Bhutan can follow the example of Oman, in which it can have cordial relations with the Americans, Iranians, and Saudis without having to take sides in regional disputes. Moreover, Bhutan does not need to worry about the U.S wanting to ‘export’ its values to the country. Under the current administration’s transactional attitude towards foreign policy, the U.S will likely be indifferent to issues like the treatment of Nepali speakers in Bhutan.
As tensions between the U.S, China, and Russia are escalating, it is more important than ever for small countries like Bhutan to increase their diplomatic engagement to avoid being victims of a world being partitioned on spheres of influences.
